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Sennik to stand down as Canada chief

Ben Sennik has announced that he will stand down as president of Cricket Canada at the end of June after five years at the helm

Ben Sennik has announced that he will stand down as president of Cricket Canada at the end of June after five years at the helm. His last role will be to attend the ICC's centenary celebrations in London.

"This was not an easy decision," said Sennick. "However, after reviewing what we have been able to jointly achieve, and recognizing what lies ahead for all of us on the cricket scene, I believe the time is now right for me to pass the responsibility as president to other hands."

"I believe Cricket Canada is now at an important crossroads. In the past five years we have revived the organization and we now stand on firm financial footing. We operate as a viable business and all financial undertakings are fully transparent. We have balanced our budget and creating a responsible economic environment to attract new partners and new opportunities."

"I fully appreciate the time and commitment that Ben Sennik has put into building the game in Canada," said Richard Done, the ICC's high performance manager. "Under his leadership Canada has developed from its voluntary base to start a new professional era both on and off the field. The national team has qualified for its third successive World Cup, the number of schools playing the game is growing, financially the sport is on a sound footing and Cricket Canada has again successfully hosted events involving a number of Full Members during 2008."

While Canada has progressed during Sennik's time at the helm, he has been a controversial figure, and only last month he faced moves to file a no-confidence vote against him. This has been withdrawn in the wake of his retirement.

Martin Williamson is executive editor of ESPNcricinfo and managing editor of ESPN Digital Media in Europe, the Middle East and Africa